RC Boys Conclude Challenging Campaign

A challenging season came to an end for the Rockbridge County High School boys basketball team with a pair of Valley District home losses last week. The Wildcats suffered a 57-41 setback against William Monroe on Friday night before falling to East Rockingham 59-33 on Saturday.

Against WM (13-3 overall, 11-3 district), after honoring their eight seniors before the game, the Wildcats (1-22, 0-14) got an impressive performance from senior guard Noah Hamm, who led RC with 18 points on six 3-pointers, scoring 15 points in the second half.

The Green Dragons, who earned a 57-42 win over RC on Jan. 17 in Stanardsville, got off to a strong start in the rematch, leading 15-4 after the first quarter. WM stayed comfortably ahead in the second quarter, and back-to-back 3-pointers from Brady Lam gave the Dragons a 27-13 halftime lead.

In the third quarter, Hamm made three 3-pointers and Bradi Ziegler hit one to help RC cut the lead to 10, but the Dragons then hit a pair of 3-pointers and took a 41-27 lead into the fourth quarter.

Midway through the fourth quarter, the Wildcats trimmed a 16point lead to 50-40 with a 3-pointer from Hamm and a three-point play by Clay Irvine. In the final three minutes, though, the Wildcats would only score one point, on a free throw from Ziegler, as WM put the game away at the free throw line.

Hamm found a way to score and also had one steal, but he was the only RC scorer in double digits.

Irvine scored eight points and had five rebounds and a steal for RC, Ziegler added five points, grabbed two boards, and took a charge in the fourth quarter. Brady Edwards chipped in four points and a steal, and Luke Eversole added four points and three rebounds. Gardner Clement contributed two points and two rebounds, while Sam Ballstaedt had two rebounds, and Ethen Camden made two steals.

Lam led the Dragons with 23 points, including two dunks, while Gavin Battaile-Gilbert added 12 points, sinking two 3-pointers, and Drew Britton chipped in 10 points.

The Wildcats and Dragons each hit eight 3-pointers. RC committed 13 turnovers, while WM had eight.

RC’s seniors honored before the game were Hamm, Irvine, Edwards, Eversole, Ballstaedt, Camden, Clement and Zane Ramsey.

Pleased to recognize his seniors, RC head coach Rob Winfield said, “It was all guys that have played all year. It’s not like it’s non-playing guys, but some guys that hadn’t had the opportunity to start yet, we got them in the starting lineup.”

One of those was Eversole, who’s battled injuries throughout the season and normally comes off the bench. “He’s as talented a player as we have,” said Winfield. “He’s just finding a way to stay healthy. Honestly, the snow probably helped him more than any kid on the team. It was nice to be able to get him in the starting lineup.”

Proud to be among the senior players honored, Hamm said, “I love it. Our record isn’t what I want it to be, but I still love it. I wouldn’t trade any group of guys. This is the only team I want to be on. We work hard every day.”

ER 59 RC 33

The Wildcats concluded their season with a 59-33 home loss to East Rockingham on Saturday afternoon in Lexington. With the loss, the Wildcats finished the year on a 15-game losing streak.

East Rockingham (13-9, 6-7), defeated RC 78-59 on Dec. 9 in Elkton, got off to a 6-0 lead in the first minute, with back-to-back 3-pointers. The Eagles took a 15-8 lead into the second quarter and made a couple more 3-pointers to go up by double digits. At halftime, ER led 30-15.

The Eagles continued to build their lead in the third quarter, hitting shots and forcing turnovers to stretch their lead to 44-22 by the end of the quarter.

The Wildcats got a bit of a spark from Edwards in the fourth quarter, as the senior center hit a 3-pointer and scored on a putback, but ER stayed comfortably ahead.

Ziegler led RC with 10 points and pulled down three rebounds, while Edwards scored eight points, hitting two 3-points, and had three rebounds and a steal. Clement had four points and led RC with five rebounds, while Ballstaedt, Eversole and Hamm each chipped in three points. Eversole and Brayden Camden each grabbed three rebounds and a steal.

Irvine contributed two rebounds and a steal and took two charges to fire up the crowd.

Camden Clem led the Eagles with 22 points, knocking down four 3-pointers, while Michael Smith added eight points. Trestan Jones and Trey Moore each chipped in six points for ER.

The Eagles made eight 3-pointers, while the Wildcats hit four. RC committed 17 turnovers; ER had nine.

RC’s lone win this season came in the Titan Basketball Invitational on Dec. 21 at Hidden Valley High School in Roanoke, when the Wildcats overcame Franklin County 49-44.

Reviewing the season, Winfield highlighted his seniors, including forward Zane Ramsey, whose senior season ended in RC’s third game when he fractured his leg in a mid-December game against Waynesboro “We won one game, so it’s not where we want to be as a program,” said Winfield, concluding his fourth season as RC’s head coach. “That’s a direct reflection on coaching, and it ain’t anybody else but me. What I appreciate is, when you have seven seniors and the eighth being Zane [Ramsey], who got injured. Zane was a special kid because he brought a different level of energy that we just never got back once he left. But the rest of those kids, they did everything they could, night in and night out, practice in and practice out. It just felt like we could never get everybody going at the same time. Unfortunately, where we’re at, we needed everybody to be on for us to win. It just never could all come together.”